Rhincodon typus - A huge circumtropical marine fish species

Photo by Simone Marques

This is the major species of shark and can attain between 9 until 12 meters of length and 13 tons of weight. Rhincodon typus, is a planktivorous, filter- feeding elasmobranch that lives in tropical and subtropical oceans throughout the world and is the longest and heaviest of all fishes. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature lists the whale shark as ‘‘Vulnerable’’ in the 2010 Red List of Threatened Species. Population genetic structure has been investigated and some estimates of effective population size have been made, but the actual number of whale sharks inhabiting the world’s oceans is unknown.

Aggregations of whale sharks have been reported from in a several tropical locations around the world. These aggregations range from a few individuals to a few dozen and all are associated with locally high concentrations of zooplankton.  To know more about aggregation of whale shark clikc ane read the paper bellow published in Plos One by Venegas et al 2011.

An Unprecedented Aggregation of Whale Sharks, Rhincodon typus, in Mexican Coastal Waters of the Caribbean Sea

Hoolbox located in Mexical Coast is a good place to see this biggest species. Click in video bellow published by Blue World and enjoy this huge fish!